Owner-occupied Housing Research Articles

Real estate taxes and home value: Evidence from TCJA

We examine the impact of changes in the federal tax treatment of owner-occupied housing stemming from the implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in January 2018 on local housing markets. Using county-level house price information and IRS tax data, we find that, holding everything else the same, capping the federal tax deduction of state and local taxes at $10,000 has caused the growth rate of home value to decline by an annualized 0.9 percentage point, or 18 percent, in areas where real estate taxes as shares of taxable income exceeded the national median. The results are robust when controlling for other changes in the tax reform. The areas with a high real estate tax burden also suffered from reductions in market liquidity after the reform. Fewer houses were transacted either in absolute numbers or as shares of total listings and houses stayed on the market longer before being sold. Importantly, we find that the housing market slowdown was accompanied by declines in local construction employment growth as well as multi-family building permits. Furthermore, on net more people moved out of these areas after the reform. Finally, we show that the act has already had political consequences. In the 2018 midterm Senate elections, more voters voted for Democratic candidates in areas with high real estate tax burden than they did for Republican candidates.

Housing Transformation in Kampala, Uganda: Causes and Opportunities

This paper discusses house transformation by owners in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, examining the reasons for the phenomenon and highlighting its nature, opportunities it offers and what be done to formalise it and take advantage of some of these opportunities for the benefit of the community. The main objective of the study was to investigate the factors and processes leading to house transformation in Kampala’s owner-occupied houses. The study revealed that the processes of house development and transformation in Kampala are largely informal, excluding professionals and local authorities. House transformations were a means of expression of the changing needs of the owners, in terms of sizes, income, class and status. House transformations are characterised by phased alterations/modifications, which result in more space for the household needs, income generation and house improvement and status uplift. The process being widespread, almost inevitable and addressing the largely genuine concern. The research recommends formalisation of guided house transformation and phased construction by Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) under the consultation of house-owners and professionals.

Inflation Measurement and its Assessment in the Ecb's Monetary Policy Strategy Review

This paper – which takes into consideration overall experience with the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) as well as the improvements made to this measure of inflation since 2003 – finds that the HICP continues to fulfil the prerequisites for the index underlying the ECB’s definition of price stability. Nonetheless, there is scope for enhancing the HICP, especially by including owner-occupied housing (OOH) using the net acquisitions approach. Filling this long-standing gap is of utmost importance to increase the coverage and cross-country comparability of the HICP. In addition to integrating OOH into the HICP, further improvements would be welcome in harmonisation, especially regarding the treatment of product replacement and quality adjustment. Such measures may also help reduce the measurement bias that still exists in the HICP. Overall, a knowledge gap concerning the exact size of the measurement bias of the HICP remains, which calls for further research. More generally, the paper also finds that auxiliary inflation measures can play an important role in the ECB’s economic and monetary analyses. This applies not only to analytical series including OOH, but also to measures of underlying inflation or a cost of living index. JEL Classification: C43, C52, C82, E31, E52

Understanding Variation In Nonurgent Pediatric Emergency Department Use In Communities With Concentrated Disadvantage.

Children in communities with concentrated socioeconomic and structural disadvantage tend to have elevated rates of nonurgent visits to emergency departments (EDs). Using a spatial regression model of 264 census block groups in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, we investigated sociodemographic and structural factors associated with lower-than-expected ("low utilization") versus higher-than-expected ("high utilization") nonurgent ED visit rates among children in block groups with concentrated disadvantage. Compared with high-utilization block groups, low-utilization block groups had higher percentages of households with two adults, high school graduates, access to vehicles, sound housing quality, and owner-occupied housing. Notably, low-utilization block groups did not differ significantly from high-utilization block groups either in the percentage of households located within very close proximity to public transit or primary care or in children's health insurance coverage rates. Stakeholders wishing to reduce pediatric nonurgent ED visits among families in communities of concentrated disadvantage should consider strategies to mitigate financial, time, transportation, and health literacy constraints that may affect families' access to primary care.

Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Identification of Patients With CKD Using Electronic Health Records

Screening for chronic kidney disease (CKD) is recommended for patients with diabetes and hypertension as stated by the respective professional societies. However, CKD, a silent disease usually detected at later stages, is associated with low socioeconomic status (SES). We assessed whether adding census tract SES status to the standard screening approach improves our ability to identify patients with CKD. Screening test analysis. Electronic health records (EHR) of 256,162 patients seen at a health care system in the 7-county Minneapolis/St. Paul area and linked census tract data. The first quartile of census tract SES (median value of owner-occupied housing units<$165,200; average household income<$35,935; percentage of residents >25 years of age with a bachelor's degree or higher<20.4%), hypertension, and diabetes. CKD (eGFR<60 mL/min/1.73 m2, or urinary albumin-creatinine ratio >30mg/g, or urinary protein-creatinine ratio >150mg/g, or urinary analysis [albuminuria] >30 mg/d). Sensitivity, specificity, and number needed to screen (NNS) to detect CKD if we screened patients who had hypertension and/or diabetes and/or who lived in low-SES tracts (belonging to the first quartile of any of the 3 measures of tract SES) versus the standard approach. CKD was prevalent in 13% of our cohort. Sensitivity, specificity, and NNS of detecting CKD after adding tract SES to the screening approach were 67% (95% CI, 66.2%-67.2%), 61% (95% CI, 61.1%-61.5%), and 5, respectively. With the standard approach, sensitivity of detecting CKD was 60% (95% CI, 59.4%-60.4%), specificity was 73% (95% CI, 72.4%-72.7%), and NNS was 4. One health care system and selection bias. Leveraging patients' addresses from the EHR and adding tract-level SES to the standard screening approach modestly increases the sensitivity of detecting patients with CKD at a cost of decreased specificity. Identifying further factors that improve CKD detection at an early stage are needed to slow the progression of CKD and prevent cardiovascular complications.

Commentary on Housing, Health, and Well-Being in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Housing is poorly constructed for the New Zealand climate and is a major cause of poor health and premature mortality. Private rental housing is older and in poorer condition than public housing and owner-occupied housing. This special issue describes four different approaches to improving housing, which have implications for international housing, health, and well-being policies. The first approach looks at generating the evidence base for improving the quality of the rental sector; the second, the aftereffects of the Christchurch earthquake and the unprecedented role taken by the central government to override local government and community involvement in rebuilding housing and regenerating the city; the third, measuring the effectiveness of the remediation of public housing; and finally, community-based partnerships between community workers and academics to improve the housing of children who have been hospitalized for housing-sensitive hospitalizations.

Study on sustainable rental housing with sublease partnership utilizing existing owner-occupied vacant houses

Despite the increase in vacant houses in Japan, existing owner-occupied vacant houses are not sufficiently converted into rental housing due to homeowners’ anxieties in legal and economic matters. In this study, we explore cases of the housing projects introducing sublease partnerships of owner-occupied houses; the projects by the municipality as a PPP collaboration and the projects introducing a lump-sum payment of a rent as a purely private business. These projects are found to have succeeded in dispersing among parties the costs and the risks a homeowner would take by achieving the three conditions; (1) A deal including renovation work, (2) Fixed-term lease contract and (3) More credible contracting party. The sublease partnership has the potential to convert owner-occupied houses into rental housing. However, some challenges which limit the sustainability of the partnership are pointed out.

A framework for the study of householders’ engagement with low-carbon energy demand practices in dwellings with grid-connected photovoltaic energy systems

Introduction: This paper introduces a framework to assess householders’ interaction with grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems in domestic buildings, in an attempt to research the question To what extent the engagement of occupants in energy demand management practices is relevant for the operational CO 2 emissions reductions in dwellings with on-grid PV systems? The focus is placed on identifying the engagement with low-carbon operation practices and its relevance for final CO2 emissions from electricity consumption. Specifically, PV electricity Self-consumption and energy conservation practices are studied. To this extent, the research builds on i) the energy services approach and ii) the social practices approach to domestic energy demand. The context of owner-occupied houses which have been retrofitted with PV installations in South Wales, UK is taken as an example. Methods: After a brief conceptual review on domestic energy demand, a mixed-methods framework for the study of householders’ engagement with low-carbon energy demand practices is presented, comprising three key aspects: a) the conditions for the practices to occur, b) frequency with which householders enact the practices, and c) the estimation of final operational CO2 emissions performance. Results: As part of ongoing research work, a framework to study households’ engagement with low-carbon energy demand practices in buildings with grid-connected PV technology is proposed; focusing on the obtention of a socio-technical lecture to complement other sources of in-use assessment data. Conclusions: Besides single case-studies, the framework has potential applications in recognising and grouping households’ engagement profiles. In this way, it is suggested that the framework might facilitate the analysis when extensive assessments are needed; such as in public policy evaluation or demand response studies. Grant Support: This work is funded by CONICYT PFCHA/DOCTORADO BECAS CHILE/2018 - 72180375.

The effect of neighborhood social environment on prostate cancer development in black and white men at high risk for prostate cancer.

IntroductionNeighborhood socioeconomic (nSES) factors have been implicated in prostate cancer (PCa) disparities. In line with the Precision Medicine Initiative that suggests clinical and socioenvironmental factors can impact PCa outcomes, we determined whether nSES variables are associated with time to PCa diagnosis and could inform PCa clinical risk assessment.Materials and methodsThe study sample included 358 high risk men (PCa family history and/or Black race), aged 35–69 years, enrolled in an early detection program. Patient variables were linked to 78 nSES variables (employment, income, etc.) from previous literature via geocoding. Patient-level models, including baseline age, prostate specific antigen (PSA), digital rectal exam, as well as combined models (patient plus nSES variables) by race/PCa family history subgroups were built after variable reduction methods using Cox regression and LASSO machine-learning. Model fit of patient and combined models (AIC) were compared; p-values<0.05 were significant. Model-based high/low nSES exposure scores were calculated and the 5-year predicted probability of PCa was plotted against PSA by high/low neighborhood score to preliminarily assess clinical relevance.ResultsIn combined models, nSES variables were significantly associated with time to PCa diagnosis. Workers mode of transportation and low income were significant in White men with a PCa family history. Homeownership (%owner-occupied houses with >3 bedrooms) and unemployment were significant in Black men with and without a PCa family history, respectively. The 5-year predicted probability of PCa was higher in men with a high neighborhood score (weighted combination of significant nSES variables) compared to a low score (e.g., Baseline PSA level of 4ng/mL for men with PCa family history: White—26.7% vs 7.7%; Black—56.2% vs 29.7%).DiscussionUtilizing neighborhood data during patient risk assessment may be useful for high risk men affected by disparities. However, future studies with larger samples and validation/replication steps are needed.

Studentification in Germany: How investors generate profits from student tenants in Goettingen and the impacts on urban segregation

This paper presents a study about studentification in the medium-sized university town of Goettingen, Germany. While many studentification studies focus on the transformation of owner-occupied houses into houses of multiple occupation, this study is about displacement in the rental housing market. I argue that within this context, the displacement of marginalised social groups takes place through rental prices and private landlords’ preferences for students of higher education. Hence, I focus on how landlords extract high rents from their property without making serious investments and investigate landlords’ strategies for increasing their return on investment via higher education student tenants. I explain their strategies, grounding this research in semi-structured interviews with landlords, property managers and real estate agents, complemented by statistical data. I show that different rental strategies landlords apply lead to the separation of different social groups. Hence, this paper argues that the strategies of landlords have an important impact on urban segregation and urban development in cities. Therefore, a deeper investigation of these strategies would help us achieve a better understanding of how the process of studentification proceeds and how displacement takes place.

Planning to stay in the countryside: The insider-advantages of young adults from farm families

Abstract There is growing interest in immobility studies prompted by declining internal migration rates. While recent studies have examined the agency of stayers, this paper sheds light on an overlooked structural influence in a rural context: namely, planning policy on house building in the countryside. Using young adult interview data from a pilot study in rural Northern Ireland we demonstrate a strong place attachment with the home area which is entangled in complex patterns of family history, farm ownership and continuing familial networks. This attachment translates into an equally strong desire to stay, which is enabled through Northern Ireland's different past and present countryside planning policies. A planning presumption in favour of countryside development at specific times has facilitated one-off self-built homes by farm families. Such development is regarded as normal and represents the least expensive route into owner-occupied housing. However, the policy provides young adults from farm families with a considerable insider-advantage when it comes to being able to stay in the countryside and, as a consequence, staying may become the preserve of those from existing farm families.

Do home sellers know their market? Evidence from neighbourhood sober-living houses

ABSTRACT We use a listing price hedonic model coupled with a standard selling price model to identify seller beliefs about how the housing market responds to refurbished formerly substandard properties serving as group homes. Occupied houses benefit the most and vacant houses the least in the long run from a nearby group home. The listing price model indicates that sellers of owner-occupied and rental houses anticipate these price effects whereas sellers of vacant properties appear to systematically underestimate the discount associated with vacant houses per se but correctly anticipate the smaller long run group home premia for their properties.

Smoke Alarms and Carbon Monoxide Alarms in Households With Children, Puerto Rico, 2010.

In 2017, Puerto Rico sustained extensive damage from Hurricane Maria, increasing the risk of fires and carbon monoxide (CO) poisonings. Using a population-based, in-person survey of households with children less than 6years old in Puerto Rico, we collected data in 2010 concerning the presence of smoke alarms and CO alarms in these households. We generated national estimates by extrapolating the number of households in each stratum using data from the 2010 Census. We determined which household characteristics predicted the presence of these alarms. Of 355 households analyzed, 31% had functional smoke alarms, or an estimated 109,773 households territory wide. The presence of smoke alarms was associated with living in multifamily housing and no child in the household receiving government medical insurance. Public housing or publicly subsidized housing, as compared to owner-occupied housing and unsubsidized rental housing, was associated with having a functional smoke alarm in households with children aged less than 6years. Based on only six houses having CO alarms, we estimated only 7685 (2%) households had CO alarms. The low prevalence of functional smoke or CO alarms 7years before Hurricane Maria is unfortunate and should be remedied by ensuring that such alarms are widely installed in current rebuilding activities.

Self-help housing and DIY home improvements: evidence from the American Housing Survey

Self-help housing has been widely studied across the developing world. Little is known, however, about the contemporary use of self-help housing in the U.S. In this study we examine self-help housing in the U.S. and its potential links to two related concepts: incremental development and informal housing. We use data from the American Housing Survey from 1997 to 2011 to examine the prevalence, location, and the development process of self-help housing in comparison with that of conventional housing. Our analysis shows that self-help housing is common in the United States, comprising approximately 10% of new owner-occupied single-family housing units nationwide and more than double that in rural areas across the country. We analyse home improvement activity for self-help and conventional homeowners, illustrating the incremental process by which self-builders improve their homes, widespread reliance on do-it-yourself (DIY) methods, and the impact of these methods on housing affordability. We conclude by discussing the implications of our findings for housing research and policy.

Reforming capital income taxation to improve housing affordability

New Zealand’s distortionary tax environment for housing imposes large costs on young people. Since 1989, New Zealand has taxed owner-occupied housing more lightly than other forms of capital income. In contrast, retirement savings have been taxed heavily. This combination has created a bias towards owner-occupied housing, encouraging homeowners to live in higher quality properties than they would under a neutral tax system, and bid up the price of land located near desirable amenities.&#x0D; While existing, often older homeowners have enjoyed high land and house values, our generation has faced artificially inflated house prices. Distortionary capital income taxation has contributed to New Zealand’s housing affordability crisis.

Longitudinal Associations Between Neighborhood Factors and HIV Care Outcomes in the WIHS.

Identifying structural determinants affecting HIV outcomes is important for informing interventions across heterogeneous geographies. Longitudinal hierarchical generalized mixed-effects models were used to quantify the associations between changes in certain structural-level factors on HIV care engagement, medication adherence, and viral suppression. Among women living with HIV in the WIHS, ten-unit increases in census-tract level proportions of unemployment, poverty, and lack of car ownership were inversely associated with viral suppression and medication adherence, while educational attainment and owner-occupied housing were positively associated with both outcomes. Notably, increased residential stability (aOR 5.68, 95% CI 2.93, 9.04) was positively associated with HIV care engagement, as were unemployment (aOR: 1.59, 95% CI 1.57, 1.60), lack of car ownership (aOR 1.14, 95% CI 1.13, 1.15), and female-headed households (aOR 1.23, 95% CI 1.22, 1.23). This underscores the importance of understanding neighborhood context, including factors that may not always be considered influential, in achieving optimal HIV-related outcomes.

The unlikely revival of private renting in Amsterdam: Re-regulating a regulated housing market

Over the last decade, private rental sectors have been in rapid ascendance across developed societies, especially in economically liberal, English-speaking contexts. The Netherlands, and Amsterdam in particular, has also more recently experienced the reversal of a century-long decline in private renting. More unusually, the expansion of private renting in Amsterdam has been explicitly promoted by the municipal and national government, and in cooperation with social housing providers, in response to decreasing accessibility to, and affordability of, social rental and owner-occupied housing. This paper explores how and why this state-initiated revival has come about, highlighting how new growth in rent-liberalized private renting is a partial outcome of the restructuring of the urban housing market around owner occupation since the 1990s. More critically, our analysis asserts that restructuring of Amsterdam’s housing stock can be conceptualized as regulated marketization. Market forces are not being simply unleashed, but given more leeway in some regards and matched by new regulations. We also demonstrate various tensions present in this process of regulated marketization; between national and local politics, between existing housing and new construction, and between policies implemented in different time periods.

Downsizing property among the older generation

New Zealand experiences widespread intergenerational housing inequalities. Millennials are far less likely than previous cohorts to access affordable housing and to own property. Large dwellings which are often more suited to young and expanding families are arguably underutilised by the older generation. Retirees are living longer and often stay in homes that they have lived in for most of their lives. This is exacerbated by distortions in our tax system which leave owner-occupied housing free from a capital gains tax. One way to phase out this generational discrepancy is motivating older generations to move to smaller homes towards the end of their life cycle. This would free up larger properties for first home buyers and ensure that retirees live in more suitable dwellings.

자가주택을 활용한 노후소득 마련 비교분석

우리나라 60세 이상의 고령층은 총자산대비 금융자산의 비중이 매우 낮으며, 40~50대에 비해 실물자산의 비중은 높은 것이 특징이다. 따라서 대표적으로 노후소득의 유동성문제, 건강보험료 및 보유세 등의 조세 부담 그리고 주택담보대출 및 주택가격 변동성 리스크 등의 문제에 직면해 있다. 이에 본 연구는 2019년 기준 주택연금의 대표적 가입계층인 70세를 기준으로, 3억원과 5억원의 자가주택 소유자가 해당 주택을 활용하여 노후소득을 마련 할 수 있는 방안에 대해 유형의 월지급금 및 주거비용 뿐 만 아니라 무형의 거주안정가치 등을 고려하여 종합적으로 비교 분석하였다.<BR> 분석결과 2019년 70세를 기준으로 3억 및 5억원의 주택소유자가 주택연금에 가입할 경우 추정되는 유·무형의 경제적 소득은 각각 월 약 197만원 그리고 약 328만원으로 나타났다. 이는 즉시연금 또는 LH연금형 희망나눔주택과 같이 주택 매각 후 유사한 규모의 주택을 임차하여 노후소득을 마련하는 방안에 비해 각각 3억원 주택의 경우 월 약30~79만원, 5억원은 월 약 40~125만원 높은 수준으로 나타났다. 따라서 주택자산을 활용한 노후소득 마련에 있어 유형의 가치(현금소득) 뿐만 아니라 노후소득 방안별 내재된 무형의 가치와 주거비용 등 각각의 상품별 장·단점을 면밀히 고려하여 개인별 니즈에 부합하는 방안을 선택할 필요가 있는 것으로 사료된다.

Assetization: The Chinese Path to Housing Financialization

Although the literature on the financialization of housing pays most attention to mortgaged and securitized homeownership and the penetration of capital into subsidized rental housing, forms of financialization are varied. In China, housing commodification and privatization has underpinned a growth in homeownership. One of the outcomes of financialization of housing is the transformation of owner-occupied housing into a financial asset for households’ wealth. Despite a relatively low level of residential mortgage lending in China, both the absolute volume of mortgages and the proportion of gross domestic product they represent are now rising. Housing value appreciation has driven a significant increase in the financing of housing consumption through multiple channels. This article examines these channels and suggests that the financialization of housing in China is a critical part of the country’s overall development model. It is further argued that the root of housing financialization in China is not mortgage securitization but the creation of owner-occupied housing as a financialized asset to propel the wider financialization of the Chinese economy in the context of state-controlled financial environment.